Pneumonia

We all had a lovely morning skiing and met at yesterday's restaurant for lunch. Mum walked to the chalet to get Dad and they took ages coming back.

I was down one end of the long table in the super busy all squashed up restaurant and my Dad down the other. Matt who was half way down said, your Dad doesn't look well Sarah. Dad was slumped against Mum and mumbling nonsense then he collapsed.

Mum and I are a good team and manoeuvred Dad on the floor, someone elevated his legs up against the table, coat under his head, I shouted to the waitress to get an ambulance and we remained calm. Inside I wanted to scream so loud, I was terrified thinking he was having a stroke in a restaurant in a little alpine village miles from any hospital. My Dad is 16 years older than my Mum but never looks his 80 years but he looked so vulnerable lying on the floor of the restaurant with people all around.

The ambulance came after 20 minutes, the ambulance men were great, we waited outside the van for 20 minutes. My Dad's oxygen sats were very low and that is why he had collapsed. We went off in the ambulance to a medical centre where mum and I waited for a few hours watching all the skiers with broken bones being admitted every 15 minutes. We were worried about my Dad's blood sugar 'sucre de sangre' according to my google french dictionary. Dad is diabetic and hadn't eaten since breakfast.

We were all sent to the big hospital in Maurice St.Bourg as Dad's oxygen sats were not improving. We bounced down the mountain in the back of the ambulance with a sleepy Dad. There was initial relief that we were in a good hospital but Dad deteriorated so much even though he was on the nebuliser and oxygen. His temperature was shooting up, he couldn't sit up or stay awake. The doctors were scarce and the nurses grumpy, we bullied a nurse into taking his blood glucose and it was sky high. Nobody came to sort it out though. We were so worried. Eventually the doctor materialised and gave my Dad some meds. Mark and Clive appeared jovially with pyjamas and diabetic meds but left a bit shell shocked by Dad's appearance.

After a midnight cat scan bacterial pneumonia was confirmed, iv antibiotics given and within 30 minutes Dad was improving so much. He was moved off the very uncomfortable hospital trolley into his own room and a lovely bed. Mum and I were dismissed at 1.30am, the grumpy nurse rang us a taxi. Albaine was the loveliest taxi driver and we booked her to take Mum back first thing in the morning. We arrived at the dark chalet and transferred a sleepy India into bed with Mum so she wasn't alone.